International

I still cannot believe that I am in Kathmandu.  I have been in Nepal for over a month and half now and I am still shocked some days that I am actually here.

It has been absolutely incredible. These have been some of the most intense, exciting, terrifying and life changing weeks of my life (and I still have so many more to go!).  I can’t even begin to describe how much I have learned in this city and country so far. Every single day is a learning experience here as you talk to new people, see new things and try to figure out how to not get lost. The country itself is incredible. Kathmandu is insane, or more so an organized chaos. While the huge amounts of people, crazy traffic, air pollution, non-stop noise, (squatter toilets…), piles of garbage, and piles of burning garbage do take a while to adjust to, Kathmandu has turned out to be a really amazing city.  The people, food, saris, temperature, and mountains are fantastic.  The monsoon clouds have started to finally lift and we can now more clearly see the surrounding hills (which would definitely be classified as mountains in most of Canada) and the Himalayas. It’s a crazy view from my roof.  Kathmandu is such an interesting combination of old and new, ancient neighborhoods and new malls, Buddhism and Hinduism, crazy and peaceful, India and China, and extreme poverty and immense luxury.  It’s so different than anything I have ever lived.  Leaving the city though, everything changes. Things are calm, quiet, clean and so incredibly green. Everyone here has said that you haven’t seen the real Nepal until you leave Kathmandu, and so far I believe it. The countryside has proved to be like another world to me.  I was able to visit the village and farm of a friend here recently, and besides being able to breathe clean air again, I got to see what ‘rural’ really looks like.  Growing up in Canadian suburbs, it was incredible to see people living on the sides of remote hills surrounded by rice patties, a three hours hike from the nearest town.  Very eye-opening.

So it has taken a while but I finally feel like I have created a mini life for myself here, which seemed like a near impossible task upon arrival.  Once the confusion and disorientation passed and I started to understand what my life was going to be like here, things normalized.  Being able to find my way to work and home again, across the city in public transport was a huge life achievement for me.  It made me feel like I finally knew what I was doing.  Also, starting work at my organization really gave me a purpose and reminded me why I came to the other side of the world.  Actually living in a different country has been one of the coolest experiences so far. You are stuck in this weird in between area of not being a tourist but not being a local, it makes being in a foreign country completely different.  It’s been so interesting creating a life here. You get to learn so much more about a country this way. 

I feel lucky to be able to be here and live with another U of O student, Naomi.  It’s been really great being able to share the crazy day to day experiences with someone who’s in the same boat as me.  It’s definitely been nice having someone to get lost with.  And to live with! We both share an apartment provided to us by our Canadian host organization CECI and absolutely love it. CECI in general has been super fantastic to us since the day we arrived.  Our country and work orientation was really helpful, and the people are great.  They even set up a week of language training for us, which has certainly gone a long way.

So…so far so good!  Nepal is a pretty incredible place and I can’t wait to really get into my work here and start exploring the city and country more.

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